Christian Lopez / Sam Morrow band co-bill in Parker Press Park

Name: Christian Lopez / Sam Morrow band co-bill in Parker Press Park
Start: 2025-07-30T19:30:00-04:00
Location: Parker Press Park

Schedule

Wed, 30 Jul, 2025 at 07:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Parker Press Park | Woodbridge, NJ

Christian Lopez, from West Virginia, has released four albums and an EP in folk rock and Americana style. Americana Music Show wrote that Lopez's lyrics and delivery have "the earnestness and wide-open view of the world that we haven't seen since the early days of Paul Simon." In 2015 Rolling Stone named Lopez "best newcomer" at the Americana Music Festival & Conference, with the article stating that he "packed so much kinetic energy into his set, and sliced so many strings, that he had to finish on a borrowed guitar."
On September 22, 2017, Lopez released his second album entitled, Red Arrow, produced by Marshall Altman, known for his work with Marc Broussard. Guests included Vince Gill's guitar on "Still on Its Feet," and Milk carton Kids Kenneth Pattengale's guitar and vocals on "Caramel." Rolling Stone said that Red Arrow "flies straight through multiple eras of rock, pop and country and named Lopez "One of the 10 New Country Artists You Need To Know".
On June 9, 2023, he released his fourth album, Magdalena. Singles from the album include, “Girl & A Gun" and "Harpers Ferry". With producer, Robert Adam Stevenson at the helm, Lopez recorded all 9 songs in his adobe casita, sharing a co-production credit. Magdalena received critical acclaim and even earned Lopez his debut at The Grand Ole' Opry

Some of you may remember the Sam Morrow opened for Amy Helm here a number of years ago and his return is long overdue! Championed by outlets like NPR and Rolling Stone, Morrow’s first four albums turned him into one of the West Coast’s biggest Americana exports. The appeal wasn’t just the swaggering, swampy music itself; it was also the sharp storytelling and unfiltered insights of a songwriter who wasn’t afraid to shine a light on the skeletons in his closet. Balancing honesty with self-deprecating humor, Morrow became a working-class hero for those struggling to follow the straight and narrow.
On The Ride Here finds him in that same position. He measures the distance between the sins of his youth and the challenges of his present with “Medicine Man,” a stomping, riff-driven rocker with a slide guitar solo worthy of Joe Walsh. “Searching For Paradise” finds him in Hunter S. Thompson mode, recounting a hallucinogenic trip in the California desert over a backdrop of greasy, East L.A. country-funk. The loose, laidback “On My Way” finds him asking a lover for patience, promising her that his best days are ahead.